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King's Rugby - The Wrap Up (Saturday 24 June)

26Jun2017

Monday 26 June 2017

The King’s First XV came up against St Peter’s College over the weekend, in what was a must-win game for the team, as they aim to secure a top four semi-final spot. The final result, 8-13, was a disappointing loss for the team, who had several opportunities to take the game but were thwarted by a strong St Peter’s side, who won by a close margin.

In the first half, St Peter’s College used the wind to put King’s under pressure and took advantage of some weak tackling to score a try that was converted by their kicker for a halftime lead of 0-13.

King’s spent a large portion of the second half in the St Peter’s College half and were eventually rewarded with a try in the right corner to Lukas Halls (Year 12, Selwyn).

Meihana Grindlay (Year 11, School), who was given the goal kicking duties given that first five-eighth Zarn Sullivan (Year 12, School) was out injured, was unable to convert from the sideline, keeping the score at 5-13.

With 10 minutes to go, the opposition infringed at a ruck and Meihana Grindlay converted the penalty to narrow the deficit. King’s fought to score a try in the final minutes but were held up by the St Peter’s First XV.

The final score of 8-13 to St Peter’s College was disappointing, as King’s had their opportunities to take this game but were unable to finish the job and take the invaluable four points. A bonus point for losing within seven points means our team remain in touch of the top four but a victory over at Mount Albert Grammar School next weekend will be necessary to achieve a semi-final place.

The King’s First XV came up against St Peter’s College over the weekend, in what was a must-win game for the team, as they aim to secure a top four semi-final spot. The weather was bleak, with a strong wind blowing straight down the ground and heavy showers that swept over the field throughout the match.

This meant that it was very much a game of two halves with St Peter’s College having the wind at their backs in the first half and King’s in the second. The opposition started strongly and quickly had King’s on the back foot, defending and unable to get out of their half. From constant pressure, King’s twice infringed within kickable range and the St. Peter’s goal kicker converted both penalties for a 0-6 lead.

From one breakout play, King’s patiently put a number of phases together and Lock Iliesa Ratuva dived over the try line but lost the ball in the action of trying to score. St Peter’s College used the wind to put King’s back under pressure and took advantage of some weak tackling to score a try that was converted by their kicker for a halftime lead of 0-13.

King’s spent a large portion of the second half in the St Peter’s College half and were eventually rewarded with a try in the right corner to Lukas Halls. Meihana Grindlay, who was given the goal kicking duties given that first five-eighth Zarn Sullivan was out injured, was unable to convert from the sideline, keeping the score at 5-13.

With 10 minutes to go, the opposition infringed at a ruck and Meihana Grindlay converted the penalty to narrow the deficit. King’s fought to score a try in the final minutes but were held up by the St Peter’s First XV.

The final score of 8-13 to St Peter’s College was disappointing, as King’s had their opportunities to take this game but were unable to finish the job and take the invaluable four points. A bonus point for losing within seven points means our team remain in touch of the top four but a victory over at Mount Albert Grammar School next weekend will be necessary to achieve a semi-final place.

In an incredible display of resilience, a heavily depleted Second XV just could not hold on and were beaten in the last few minutes by the fast finishing team from Mount Albert Grammar School.

Losing captain Oliva Mason last week with a broken leg, as well as Luke Tuhaka and Jason de Heer with ankle ligament strains, meant a very new combination started. Our loose forward, Temple Kalepo, did an outstanding job at playing second five-eighth and George Brown joined him in the midfield for his first starting game. Four Colts players had to run over after their game as we had no substitutes.

It was therefore very satisfying to be leading 8-3 at halftime, with King’s completely dominant up-front and especially in the lineout. A fine driven lineout saw Leandro Vakatini power his way over. Not only were the team short on numbers, but the injuries had also removed our goal kickers. After a ‘kick-off’ on the Thursday at training, new backline player Kalepo won the duties. His 40 metre penalty to open the scoring proved his credentials. The only frustration from the first half was the amount of possession and territory, for what was a small lead.

The second half followed a similar pattern with King’s dominating lineout and first phase. With 10 minutes to goLaith Hammond, who had been immense across the park, left the field with a hip strain, and as a few other combinations changed, so the momentum swung to the opposition. Two plays, one a kick through and the other wide passing, found space and were not covered adequately, allowing tries and a victory to the ecstatic Mount Albert Grammar School side.

King’s lost well-performed halfback, Taylor Norwood, with a cheap-shot high tackle that saw him removed from the field and blue carded for concussion. This will make next week even tougher as we play Sacred Heart College away. This was a brave effort from a heavily depleted team who are still leading the log table and vowing to come back stronger.

King’s Colts came out of the starting blocks on fire against an unbeaten side from Tangaroa College. Campbell Mabin took the side out to a 3-0 lead early on, which paved the way for our smaller and more mobile forwards to dominate the opposition pack. With great tactical kicking from Joe Marr and Xela Pathan our backs were able to dominate in their 22. Tangaroa College scored and converted. Another penalty kick from Campbell put our lead out to 6-5 at half-time whistle.

The opposition scored again after the break and converted the try which took the score out to 12-6. With the clock ticking down, the forwards completed a drive five meters from the opposition line and scored. Campbell converted the try from out wide to take the lead back at 13-12. With time up on the clock, Tangaroa kicked off and we fumbled the the ball. Tangaroa passed the ball out wide and scored from a generous pass to their winger to win the game 13-17.

As the old cliché goes, it was a game of two halves. We played with the wind in the first half, but spent the first 15 minutes defending our try line. However, we defended well and only allowed Mount Albert Grammar School to score a single try.

We had a number of opportunities during the first half and scored two tries. We were leading 12-7 at the break.

We produced a much-improved performance in the second half and scored three tries. The replacements made a significant impact, which allowed the forwards to take control of the game and our lineout drive was to the fore. Because of our forward dominance up front, the backs played with more control and scored three more tries. This week we have a bye. We then play De La Salle College in a must-win game on Saturday 8 July.

This was a tough encounter against a good team. After looking likely to bust the line, a loose pass gifted the Selwyn winger a 70m try, which was converted to give the opposition a 0-7 lead. However, the boys maintained their composure and Allan Bentley split the defensive line in one of the many attacks to score. Continued pressure enabled us to dominate the second half and add a penalty kick, winning the game 8-7.

5A Sacred Heart College3-41 to Sacred Heart College

This was a disappointing game to lose. We now have two games in five days that lie ahead and need our experienced players to step up and lead the way forward.

5BHowick College0-56 to Howick College

We were unfortunately beaten in all departments by what was a superior team. Hopefully the boys will be able to make changes at training and come back stronger next week.

5CSacred Heart College0-32 to Sacred Heart College

A much improved performance from our side saw a respectable result achieved against Sacred Heart College. Our forwards were more dominant than in previous weeks and the backs are also showing signs of improvement.

King's put on a great performance against Avondale College, putting the score at 80-0 inside 50 minutes. Avondale were valiant in their attempts to cope with the pace and precision of the King's 6A team, but were unable to withstand the waves of attack and excellent handling in the wet conditions.

The forwards were powerful and united in their breakdown work, while the backs scythed through at will off front-foot ball. Joe Taylor and Nathan Robinson were excellent links between forwards and backs today and their communication skills have improved immeasurably through the season.

The forwards were relentless at the ruck and maul and the line-speed in the backs was maintained right until the last move. Although everybody had some excellent moments, special mention goes to Dominic de Latour for tireless, unheralded work in the tight, Maikel Tuala for selflessly gifting a number of tries to his team-mates andMonty Hare for some unexpected blockbusting runs through the midfield.